The Modern Scholar: Rings, Swords, and Monsters: Exploring Fantasy Literature

In this course, the roots of fantasy and the works that have defined the genre are examined. Incisive analysis and a deft assessment of what makes these works so very special provides a deeper insight into beloved works and a better understanding of why fantasy is such a pervasive force in modern culture.

The Modern Scholar: From Here to Infinity: An Exploration of Science Fiction Literature

The best science fiction asks essential questions: What does it mean to be human? Are we alone in the universe, and what does it mean if we're not? Esteemed professor Michael D. C. Drout traces the history of science fiction in this series of stimulating lectures. From Mary Shelley's Frankenstein to today's cutting- edge authors, Drout offers a compelling analysis of the genre, including a look at the golden age of science fiction, New Wave writers, and contemporary trends in the field.

The Modern Scholar: Tolkien and the West: Recovering the Lost Tradition of Europe

The works of J.R.R. Tolkien are quite possibly the most widely read pieces of literature written in the 20th century. But as Professor Michael Drout illuminates in this engaging course of lectures, Tolkien's writings are built upon a centuries-old literary tradition that developed in Europe and is quite uniquely Western in its outlook and style. Drout explores how that tradition still resonates with us to this day, even if many Modernist critics would argue otherwise. He begins the course with the allegory of a tower....

The Modern Scholar: A History of the English Language

Professor Drout addresses the foundation of language and its connection to specific portions of the brain. The components of language are explained in easy-to-understand terms and the progression of the language from Germanic to Old, Middle, and Modern English is fully illustrated - including such revolutionary language upheavals as those brought about by the Norman Conquest and the Great Vowel Shift.

The Modern Scholar: The Anglo-Saxon World

Had the Angles and Saxons not purposefully migrated to the isles of the Britons and brought with them their already-well-developed use of language, Angelina Jolie may never have appeared in the movie Beowulf. Professor Michael D.C. Drout is at his best when lecturing on the fascinating history, language, and societal adaptations of the Anglo-Saxons.

The Modern Scholar: The Norsemen - Understanding Vikings and Their Culture

Professor Michael D.C. Drout of Wheaton College immerses listeners in the extraordinary legacy of Viking civilization, which developed in what is now Scandinavia during the early Middle Ages. During the course of these lectures, Professor Drout explores how these peoples conquered all of Northern Europe, traveled as far as Byzantium in the East and North America in the West, and left a literary legacy that includes numerous works studied and enjoyed to this day.

The Modern Scholar: Bard of the Middle Ages: The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer

Through his writing, Chaucer's wit, charm, and eloquence give us a deeper understanding of not only the time in which he lived, but of how human emotion, frailty, and fortitude are the base elements of human existence. Despite social upheaval and the changing fortunes of his patrons and peers, Chaucer remained a favored subject during three distinct and contrasting reigns. His experiences provided Chaucer an appreciation for his good (and bad) fortune - and that of others - made evident in his writing.

The Modern Scholar: Masterpieces of Western Music

This lecture series focuses on the very best of Western music, and as we progress through these lectures, the following are two important questions that we will seek to answer as we examine the various musical selections: What makes these works masterpieces? Why highlight these works?

The Modern Scholar: A Way With Words, Part II: Approaches to Literature

In A Way with Words II: Approaches to Literature, Michael D.C. Drout leads a series of lectures that focus on the big questions of literature. Throughout, he introduces the major schools of literary and critical thought and employs illuminating examples from the world's most important literary works. This course proves a wonderful exploration of one of humankind's most cherished pursuits.

A Way with Words IV: Understanding Poetry

In part IV of this fascinating series, Professor Drout submerses listeners in poetry's past, present, and future. Addressing such poetic luminaries as Milton,Wordsworth, Shelley, and Keats, these lectures explain in simple terms what poetry is while following its development through the centuries.

The Modern Scholar: Way with Words: Writing Rhetoric and the Art of Persuasion

Esteemed professor Michael D. C. Drout brings his expertise in literary studies to the subject of rhetoric. From history-altering political speeches to friendly debates at cocktail parties, rhetoric holds the power to change opinions, spark new thoughts, and ultimately change the world.

The Modern Scholar: He Said/She Said: Women, Men and Language

"My goal in this series, in addition to illuminating the patterns of women's and men's uses of language, is to enhance understanding of how language works in everyday life. I am told by students who have taken my courses that this understanding helps them in their everyday lives, as every aspect of our lives involves talking to people of the other sex - in our personal relationships, our families, at work, and in trying to get just about anything done."

The Modern Scholar: The Medieval World I: Kingdoms, Empires, and War

This all-encompassing investigation of a highly influential time period includes the major events of the era and informative discussion of empire, papacy, the Crusades, and the fall of Constantinople. During the course of these lectures, Professor Madden also addresses the rise of Islam, reform movements, and schisms in the church. In so doing, Professor Madden underscores the significance and grand scale of an age that continues to hold an undeniable fascination for people today.

The Modern Scholar: Singers and Tales: Oral Tradition and the Roots of Literature

In this course, Professor Michael D. C. Drout traces literature back to its ultimate sources in oral tradition. Drout shows us how works as varied as the Odyssey, Beowulf, the Finnish Kalevala, and epic songs from the former Yugoslavia were shaped by their origins as songs sung - and composed - before a live audience. Understanding the oral roots of these great works lets us see them in a whole new light.

The Modern Scholar: Celts and Germans: The Enduring Heritage of the European Northlands

One of the Modern Scholar's most popular lecturers, Professor Timothy B. Shutt of Kenyon College examines the contributions of the peoples of northern Europe through their vibrant literary legacy. As Professor Shutt's textual analysis reveals, Celtic and Germanic values shine through these works, exhibiting such characteristics as courage, self-control, and respect for women. As listeners will find, the legacy of the European Northlands formed a cultural pattern that continues to this day.

Modern Scholar: How to Think: The Liberal Arts and Their Enduring Value

In How to Think: The Liberal Arts and Their Enduring Value, Professor Michael D. C. Drout gives an impassioned defense and celebration of the value of the liberal arts. Charting the evolution of the liberal arts from their roots in the educational system of Ancient Rome through the Middle Ages and to the present day, Drout shows how the liberal arts have consistently been "the tools to rule", essential to the education of the leaders of society. Offering a reasoned defense of their continuing value, Drout also provides suggestions for improving the state of the liberal arts in contemporary society.

The Modern Scholar: Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

Esteemed professor Jennifer Tobin leads a compelling series of lectures on the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. Examining the historical and social context of each wonder, Tobin answers such questions as "Why was it built?" and "What can it tell us about the people who built it?" From the Great Pyramid at Giza to the Colossus of Rhodes and the Pharos of Alexandria, the course provides a 360-degree view of these enduring marvels of human achievement.

The Modern Scholar: Ethics: A History of Moral Thought

This course addresses some of the eternal questions that man has grappled with since the beginning of time. What is good? What is bad? Why is justice important? Why is it better to be good and just than it is to be bad and unjust? Most human beings have the faculty to discern between right and wrong, good and bad behavior, and to make judgments over what is just and what is unjust. But why are ethics important to us?

Classical Mythology

These 24 lectures are a vibrant introduction to the primary characters and most important stories of classical Greek and Roman mythology. Among those you'll investigate are the accounts of the creation of the world in Hesiod's Theogony and Ovid's Metamorphoses; the gods Zeus, Apollo, Demeter, Persephone, Hermes, Dionysos, and Aphrodite; the Greek heroes, Theseus and Heracles (Hercules in the Roman version); and the most famous of all classical myths, the Trojan War.

The Modern Scholar: A Way With Words Part III: Grammar for Adults

Since others judge you by the way you speak, the intricacies of grammar, in fact, should not be relegated to the realm of fussy "guardians of the language," but are rather essential clues all can employ to communicate more exactly. In such a light, this course forms an invaluable guide for everyone from all fields of interest.

The Modern Scholar: Medieval Mysteries: The History Behind the Myths of the Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is not only a period of Romance, but of legends, tales, and mysteries. In this course, Professor Thomas F. Madden guides listeners through the most famous and enduring narratives of medieval Europe. Beginning with King Arthur, Professor Madden peels back layers of exaggeration and fiction to lay bare the historical basis for the mythical king.

The Modern Scholar: Detective Fiction: From Victorian Sleuths to the Present

From mysterious origins through the Victorian sleuths and the "Golden Age" of the genre (the 1920s through the 1940s) and to the present day, detective fiction, mysteries, and spy thrillers have consistently topped best-seller lists around the world. Professor M. Lee Alexander provides listeners with a lively discussion of groundbreaking authors from Edgar Allan Poe and Arthur Conan Doyle to Agatha Christie, Ian Fleming, and modern writers such as Nevada Barr and Jonathan Kellerman.

Heroes and Legends: The Most Influential Characters of Literature

Odysseus. Robinson Crusoe. Harry Potter. What do these memorable characters have in common? Why do we turn to certain stories again and again? And what impact have they made on world history? These 24 eye-opening lectures give fresh insight into some of the greatest heroes in world literature, from warriors such as Beowulf and Odysseus to unexpected heroes such as Uncle Tom and Sancho Panza. Professor Shippey gives you an inside glimpse into the writer's process.

The Modern Scholar: Hebrews, Greeks and Romans: Foundations of Western Civilization

Our purpose in this course will be to examine the foundations of Western civilization in antiquity. We will look at the culture of the ancient Hebrews, of the ancient Greeks, and of the Romans, and we will likewise look at how these cultures interacted with each other, sometimes happily, sometimes not. In the process, we will focus on how the questions they addressed and the answers they found live among us and continue to shape our lives to this very day.

Publisher's Summary

The overwhelming success of the Lord of the Rings films and the Harry Potter series aptly demonstrates that the fantasy genre is alive and well in the new millennium. The names of authors such as J.R.R. Tolkien, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Terry Brooks evoke ripe tales of heroism and the clash of good versus evil in magical, faraway lands. The rich collection of King Arthur tales have also captured the imagination of millions and resonates with audiences to the present day.

Should fantasy be considered serious literature, or is it merely escapism? In this course, the roots of fantasy and the works that have defined the genre are examined. Incisive analysis and a deft assessment of what makes these works so very special provides a deeper insight into beloved works and a better understanding of why fantasy is such a pervasive force in modern culture.

I enjoyed Professor Michael D. C. Drout???s 14-lecture class on modern fantasy, which mainly focus on J. R. R. Tolkien, which is fine, because Tolkien is a major figure in modern fantasy. Professor Drout has a pleasing enthusiasm and a comprehensible clarity as he lectures.

After discussing the fantasy genre (a hybridization combining oral epics with novelistic techniques and concerns), Drout limns the origins of modern fantasy (Victorian works like the Alice books, The Waterbabies, and The Princess and the Goblin), and then dives into Tolkien, depicting relevant facts about his life and philological study before assessing The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, as well as difficult work like The Silmarillion and important scholarly essays on Beowulf and fantasy. Drout next covers two followers of Tolkien, Brooks the imitator and Donaldson the reactor, as well as two ???worthy inheritors??? who create fantasy as aesthetically and thematically consistent and compelling as that of Tolkien: Ursula K. Le Guin and Robert Holdstock. He then discusses children???s fantasy (Narnia, The Dark is Rising, Prydain, and a bit of Rowling and Pullman) and then the Arthurian genre (T. H. White, Mary Stewart, and Marion Zimmer Bradley). He concludes with a chapter on magical realism (Borges and Garcia-Marquez), arguing that, unlike most modern fantasy, it denies rather than provides healthy escape and is oriented around tragedy rather than Tolkieniean eucatastrophe.

I like the many insights that Drout provides as he lectures, like about Le Guin???s solution to death in The Other Wind or about class in The Hobbit or about the way in which Peter Jackson???s movies make Tolkien???s world smaller. Sure, I wish he???d have covered more authors (like L. Frank Baum, Lord Dunsany, E. R. Eddison, Robert E. Howard, Mervyn Peake, or Michael Swanwick) and to have gone into more detail in non-Tolkien chapters, but that only shows how much I enjoyed his ???class??? and wished it could have been twice as long.

I've been going through some family health crisis stuff lately and I find that's Drout's lectures are so fascinating they are the one thing that can completely take my mind off my problems. I started with his lecture on Anglo Saxon stuff and was delighted to find this one when I finished. I downloaded and saved it for a day I expected to get some bad news. Sure enough... it was bad but like magic this lecture kept my mind occupied for hours on end and left me in a good mood. I didn't realize there would be so much on The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings my two favorite books of all time. I've no interest whatever in poetry and writing but I'm thinking about getting those lectures too. The guy is just so enthusiastic about the material. What a treasure!

Prof Drout is both extremely knowledgeable and an excellent lecturer. His enthusiasm for the subject is contagious; it's also very good to hear an audio course where the professor is truly lecturing rather than reading notes or a teleprompter.

Half the course (7 of 14 lectures) is dedicated to Tolkien, but perhaps that's fitting given the way he dominates the literature of the fantastic. However, the other authors who are discussed (Brooks, Donaldson, LeGuin, Holdstock, Lewis) are given good coverage as well. And the discussion of broader topics (what is fantasy, origins of fantastic literature, children’s fantasy, Arthurian fantasy, magical realism) are very interesting and insightful as well.

This series of lectures is absolutely amazing! The Professor absolutely LOVES his subject and makes listening to the series a pure joy. I'm a big Fantasy geek, but this series has given me new insight into the genre as well as sparked my interest in books I might not have otherwise read. (Harry Potter) Over half the lectures focus on Tolkien, for good reason. The father of modern fantasy is explored and I learned more about Tolkien and Lord of the Rings in just a week of listening to these lectures than I have in years. He doesn't over analyze Tolkien like some people tend to do, but definitely treats him with the respect he deserves. It's also fun to hear him read some of the poems in Elvish etc... He touches on the Earthsea books and a number of other fantasy books as well. I would like to have heard his take on some books and authors he left out, (The Last Unicorn, the Sword of Truth) however I was more than pleased with this course and will listen to it over and over again. 5 stars for anyone interested in Fantasy!

This series of lectures was very interesting, and I think any fan of the fantasy genre would appreciate learning more about its history and origins. Professor Drout spends a great deal of time on Tolkien, and while he may be correct in his idea that Tolkien is the 'father' of the field and all writers following are either imitating or reacting against his influence, I would have liked to have seen a wider exploration of authors and styles.

I have listen to almost all of the Drout Modern Scholar lectures. They are all very informative and I have learned much from them. This book talked about several fantasy books and give lots of analysis of the books. There is a big focus on Tolkien, but it is a merited one. I was very happy with the book.

I cannot oversell the powers of Drout to be able to convey academic information in a very relative way. Drout has cost me money and time because he has been so effective in teaching the importance of the works that he discusses that I have gone out and purchased them. His informative and enthusiastic lectures makes me want to be a student again. This is not the geek speak that I was concerned that it would be. Great analysis of the genre and the works discussed.

I enjoyed the scholarly view of some of my favorite works by Prof. Drout. I had not listened to a scholar book of this nature before and did not know what to expect but he delivered quite nicely. He takes us from early mythology up through Tolkien and into the modern age of fantasy writers and stories. I only wish it had been a little longer and with a bit more detail in spots.That being said I do plan on reading Drout's Science Fiction companion to this book, From Here to Infinity: An Exploration of Science Fiction Literature.

Prof Drout was a bit hard to listen to in the beginning but once I caught on to his cadence it made things a bit easier to follow. Listen to the example, some people might be put off just a bit by this.

What could be better than a serious study of fantasy literature by The Modern Scholar series? As an English major in college, I was continually rebelling against the critics who dismissed all fantasy, science fiction, and mystery writing as "lesser". Good writing is good writing in any genre! I enjoyed this a lot.

Where does The Modern Scholar rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Amongst the best

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Modern Scholar?

I enjoyed listening to the heroes quest section.

Have you listened to any of the narrator’s other performances? How does this one compare?

From Here to Infinity - I feel this was the better of the two.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Bernd

Kassel, Germany

7/20/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Very enjoyable explanations and narratives."

If you could sum up The Modern Scholar in three words, what would they be?

I't always an delectation to hear one of The Great Courses. I bought a lot of them and appreciate all of them. As a German without former English experience I could improve my language knowledge und learn parallel many interesting stuff to diverse fields.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Modern Scholar?

It was the moment when I finished my first book of the "Great Couses. Starting it as a beginner of English I had concluded it as a advanced learner. The same is true for some other works by the Great Courses.

Have you listened to any of the narrator’s other performances? How does this one compare?

Yes, I heard about 6 books from the same narrator (he is also the author). It`s always high quality.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It was instructive and very good to hear for hours. But cause all the books are nonfictional, there was sparsely emotion to appreciate. But sometimes it was very amusing.

Any additional comments?

I recommend this book without reservations.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

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